Canadian Para-Equestrian Athlete Roberta Sheffield Awarded 2015 Team Investors Group Amateur Athletes Fund Bursary

Canadian Para-Equestrian Athlete Roberta Sheffield Awarded
2015 Team Investors Group Amateur Athletes Fund Bursary

Ottawa, Ont., June 17, 2015 -- AthletesCAN and Investors Group are pleased to announce that Canadian Para-Equestrian team member Roberta Sheffield has been awarded a $5,000 Team Investors Group Amateur Athletes Fund bursary.

In keeping with their commitment to amateur sport in Canada, Investors Group established a bursary fund for Canada's top high performance athletes. A national leader in delivering personalized financial solutions to Canadians, Investors Group annually awards twenty $5,000 bursaries to assist Canada's elite amateur athletes with the costs of training and competition. Selection criteria includes: athletic achievement, financial need and community involvement.

Since its inception in 2000, the Team Investors Group Amateur Athletes Fund has provided more than $1.5 million to Canadian athletes. AthletesCAN administers the bursary on behalf of Investors Group.

"Investors Group considers it an honour to help support our nation's elite athletes with these bursaries," says Trevor Krahn, Manager, Community Affairsfor Investors Group. "Athletes at this level are constantly juggling the demands of work and school with training and competition. For 16 years now, we have been pleased to provide Canada's athletes with bursaries totaling over $1.5 million to make those demands easier to manage."

"AthletesCAN appreciates and applauds Investors Group's contributions as a leader in corporate support of Canada's national team athletes", says AthletesCAN Interim Executive Director Ashley LaBrie. "This bursary recognizes the dedication and leadership Roberta exhibits both on and off the field of play. We look forward to seeing the impact of this funding throughout her quest for excellence as an athlete and a role model."

"I am so excited that Investors Group and AthletesCAN have shown this massive leap of faith in me and I will do everything in my power to make them and my country proud of me", exclaimed Roberta. "This is a wonderful opportunity to be able to compete and train more in the run up to the 2016 Paralympics. Medals are won in the preparation so this will be a huge help as we work aim for the podium", she adds. "I really want to be able to share my career and, hopefully, success with the staff and students of Willoughby School. They are an amazing bunch who do the most incredible work!"

2015 Team Investors Group Amateur Athletes Fund Bursary Recipients:

Patricia Bezzoubenko (Thornhill, ON) - Rhythmic Gymnastics

Laura Brown (Calgary, AB) - Cycling

Marie-Eve Croteau (Quebec, QC) - Para-Cycling

Marco Dispaltro (St-Jerome, QC) - Boccia

Roseline Filion (Laval, QC) - Diving

Ariane Fortin (St-Nicolas, QC) - Boxing

Marc-Antoine Gagnon (Terrebonne, QC) - Freestyle Skiing

Joanna Guy (Mississauga, ON) - Fencing

Rachel Homan (Ottawa, ON) - Curling

Kyle Jones (Oakville, ON) - Triathlon

Kip Kangogo (Lethbridge, AB) - Athletics

Jane Kirby (Guelph, ON) - Rugby

Justin Kripps (Summerland, BC) - Bobsleigh

Audrey Lacroix (Pont-Rouge, QC) - Swimming

Pamela LeJean (Halifax, NS) - Para- Athletics

Cleopas Ncube (Kingston, ON) - Wrestling

Guillaume Ouellet (Victoriaville, QC) - Para Athletics

Taylor Pischke (Winnipeg, MB) - Beach Volleyball

Roberta Sheffield (Ottawa, ON) - Para Equestrian

Jennifer Wakefield (Pickering, ON) - Ice Hockey

For more information, please contact:

Ashley LaBrie

Interim Executive Director

AthletesCAN

(613) 526-4025 x224

alabrie@athletescan.com

www.athletescan.com

About Investors Group

Investors Group, founded in 1926, is a national leader in delivering personalized financial solutions to Canadians through a network of over 4,600 Consultants located throughout Canada. In addition to an exclusive family of mutual funds and other investment vehicles, Investors Group offers a wide range of insurance, securities, mortgage and other financial services.

About AthletesCAN
As the voice of Canadian national team athletes, AthletesCAN ensures an athlete centered sport system by developing athlete leaders who influence sport policy and, as role models, inspire a strong sport culture.

Source/Source : Jessie Christie

Manager, Communications and Media Relations / Directrice, communications et relations avec les médias

Equine Canada/Canada Hippique

Tel./Tél. (613) 287-1515 ext./poste 133

E-mail/Courriel : jchristie@equinecanada.ca

Equine Canada wishes to thank and is grateful to their sport partners, the Government of Canada, Own the Podium, Sport Canada, Canadian Paralympic Committee and Canadian Olympic Committee for their ongoing support.

Canada Hippique souhaite remercier et exprimer sa reconnaissance envers ses partenaires sportifs, Gouvernement du Canada, À nous le podium, Sport Canada, le Comité paralympique canadien et le Comité olympique canadien pour leur appui soutenu.

About Para-Equestrian Canada

Para-Equestrian Canada is the Equine Canada committee responsible for developing programs for athletes with a physical disability, and implementing the Para-Dressage high performance program. Para-Equestrian is one of Canada's most successful international disciplines, achieving an individual gold medal and an individual silver medal at the 2008 Paralympic Games, as well as two individual bronze medals at the 2004 Paralympic Games.

About Para-Equestrian Sport
Para-Equestrian sport provides riders with a physical disability the opportunity to compete against other riders with similar abilities. Riders are given a "Grade" based on their functional ability, and are judged on their riding skill against other athletes of the same Grade. There are five grades of competitions in dressage, with Grade IA representing the more severely impaired riders, and Grade IV representing the least severely impaired riders. Many Para-Equestrian athletes also compete alongside able-bodied competitors in Equine Canada competitions. At the grass roots level, Para-Equestrian encompasses a number of different disciplines, while the international stream focuses only on Para-Dressage. For more information, please visit www.equinecanada.ca/para-equestrian.

About Equine Canada
Equine Canada is the leading national sport and equine organization in the country. It fulfills a broad range of governance, advocacy and development functions, all of which focus, in one way or another, on the horse and draw on the enthusiasm it arouses. As a result of our efforts, Equine Canada is recognized by Sport Canada and the Féderation Equestre Internationale (FEI) as the national governing body for equestrian sport and recreation in Canada. It is the industry sector leader and as such is recognized and supported by Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. In particular, its leadership in improving both the quality and condition of horses is lauded at home and abroad.

À propos de Canada Hippique
Canada Hippique est l'organisme national responsable de l'organisation du sport équestre et de l'hippisme au pays. Il exerce une vaste gamme de fonctions de gouvernance, de représentation et de développement, toutes axées, d'une façon ou d'une autre, sur le cheval et l'enthousiasme que celui-ci suscite. Grâce à nos efforts, Canada Hippique est reconnu auprès de Sport Canada et de la Fédération équestre internationale comme étant l'organisme national dirigeant les sports et les loisirs équestres au Canada. Il est le leader de ce secteur de l'industrie et est reconnu comme tel et soutenu par Agriculture et Agroalimentaire Canada. Plus particulièrement, son leadership dans l'amélioration de la qualité et de la condition des chevaux est louangé tant au pays qu'à l'étranger.